1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to parts-conveying apparatus for conveying parts from a parts feeder to an assembling station with parts keeping their correct arrangement and posture.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When parts are conveyed to an assembling station in an automatic assembling machine, such parts must be conveyed in such proper arrangement or posture as to meet the subsequent operation carried out at the assembling station. If the part to be worked on is different in shape either between the upper side and the lower side or between the front side and the rear side, the necessity of conveying the parts in such proper arrangement and posture is more pronounced.
An apparatus which has been commonly used for this purpose comprises a bowl-shaped parts feeder for storing parts and a downward-inclined or vertical gravity-type chute having its upper end joined to an outlet of the parts feeder for feeding the parts from the parts feeder through the chute to the assembling station via their own gravity. Since the parts must slide down the chute via their own gravity, the parts feeder must be positioned far above the assembling station of the automatic assembling machine.
Considering the subsequent operation to be carried out at the assembling station of the automatic assembling machine, the parts must be fed to the assembling station intermittently. It must be ensured that an ensuing part be ready at the lower end of the chute well before a preceding part is finished.
However, if parts are different in shape between their front side and rear side, sometimes, feeding of parts is interrupted and sometimes, parts are supplied, at once, in a large number, in other words, smooth and stable feeding of parts cannot be accomplished. Therefore, there is no guarantee that a part is always ready for assemblage at the lower end of the chute.